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By far the most bombastic of his concerti, this work surpasses anything Rachmaninoff had written before. While the Third Piano Concerto is in many ways a full-fledged Romantic composition, Rachmaninoff also pursues Modernist elements such as symmetry and developmental logic to propel this piece into a new sphere. His initiating theme is deceptive, a slow and simple melody for the piano. As the first movement continues, however, the theme escalates into an eruptive, cathartic cadenza that only he and a few select others (including Helfgott, who is depicted in the movie Shine) were technically proficient enough to attack.
The initiating theme of the piano evolves into an orchestra accompaniment during the second movement of the work, inverting the relationship originally defined in the first movement. This inversion is turned a third time for the valiant third movement, one full of delight and joy, a celebration of the successful interplay of man and machine performing at full capacity.
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